Carriage for transporting warps



March 18, 1969 H. MEIERHOFER CARRIAGE FOR TRANSPORTING WARPS Filed, March so, 1967 United States Patent 3,382/ 66 US. Cl. 280-79.1 6 Claims Int. Cl. B62b 3/02 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This specification discloses a carriage for sectional warp beams having a central support mounted on caster wheels, which support has a removable section including one caster wheel capable of remote operation for facilitating the transfer of the warp beams to the weaving machine.

Background of the invention Warp beams for weaving machines of considerable effective width usually consist of at least two sectional beams positioned side by side. For transporting these warp beams to the weaving machine, the sectional beams have to be positioned and spaced with respect to one another at the same distance apart as they will be located in the weaving machine itself so that they can be introduced into the weaving machine without having to be longitudinally displaced. For reasons of strength, the carriage carrying the beams has to be supported by rollers beneath all of the beam side flanges including the internally located warp-beam flanges. Since the sectional beams are only separated from one another by a very narrow gap and are installed .in the weaving machine in such a way that there is only a limited clearance between floor and beam, a roller arranged at the weaving-machine side of the carriage interferes with introduction of the beams into the weaving machine.

Brief description of the invention According to the present invention, the carriage is provided at the weaving machine side thereof with a roller support associated with the internally located warpbeam flanges, which roller support can be separated from the remaining parts of the carriage which actually support the warp beams. Separation may not take place until those parts of the carriage which support the warp beams have come to rest on cooperating parts of the weaving machine, and so locking means for the support roller operable from the opposite side of the carriage is provided to effect the release. After the rollers have been separated from the carriage, they are moved into positions in which they do not interfere with introduction of the warp beams into the loom.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a carriage for warp beams for weaving machines which eliminates or effectively avoids the difiiculties inherent in known arrangements of a similar nature.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a carriage for warp beams for weaving machines which provides for increased accessibility between the carriage and the weaving machine.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a carriage for warp beams for weaving machines having sufficient strength to support warp beams of great weight and being convertible to provide for removal of a part thereof limiting access to the machine is no longer needed after support is achieved on the Weaving machine.

'It is still another object of the present invention to provide a carriage for warp beams for weaving machines 3,433,499 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 wherein removal of a portion thereof may be achieved from a remote point on the carriage.

Que embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a pair of warp beams;

FIGURE 2 is a corresponding side elevation of FIG- URE 1; and

FIGURES 3 to 5 show structural details of the arrangement of the present invention.

The drawings illustrate a carriage accommodating a multi-part warp beam consisting of individual beams 1 and 2 comprising three supporting brackets 3, 4 and 5, interconnected by a transverse frame member 6 two of which brackets 3 and 5 carry the outer warp-beam flanges and the third bracket 4 of which occupies the gap between the two sectional beams. Owing to the considerable weight of the beams and the distance between the end flanges, a central support on the carriage is essential, which central support also has to be provided with suitable rollers 41. With warp beams as large as these, clearance between ground level and the periphery of the warpbeam flanges is extremely limited and the gap between the adjacent centrally located warp-beam flanges is only about an inch wide so that the entire central support 4 has to be limited to this width.

Since the sectional warp beams have to be rolled onto the loom along locating rails 32, 42, 52, and since the warp beam sits down below the level of the rollers, as seen in FIGURE 2, the roller 41 at the weaving-machine end lies in the path of the warp-beam flanges 11 and 21 and would block transfer of the warp beams onto the loading platform of the weaving machine.

When the carriage is pushed up to the loom, the locating rails 32, 42 and 52 of the respective brackets initially come to rest on corresponding rails on the loom so that the weight of the warp beam is shifted away from the front rollers 31, 41 and 51 to the loom itself. According to the invention, as seen in FIGURE 3, the roller 41 is connected with a removable bracket section 43 which can be separated from the main bracket section 44 of bracket support 4. Since neither of these sections is accessible when the warp beam is loaded on the carriage, the bracket section 43 has to be separated by a mechanism which can be operated from the opposite side of the carriage. This mechanism is designed as follows: The bracket section 43 has a guide slot 45 into which fits a guide plate 46 formed as part of the bracket section 44. A bolt 47 is also provided transverse to the slot 45 to connect the two sides of the bracket section forming the slot 45. The roller 41 is fixed by conventional means to the lower and more lengthy supporting surface of the section 43. The bracket section 44 comprises a hook or catch 60 which is pivotally arranged beneath the guide plate 46 to rotate about a pin 65. The hook 60 may be mounted in a slot in section 44 in communication with a corresponding slot in section 43 exposing the pin 47, or it may be mounted on the side of section 44 to engage with pin 47 protruding from section 43. In its lowered position, the hook 60 engages around the bolt 47 when the detachable bracket section 43 is moved along the guide plate towards the bracket section 44. When the hook 60 is raised, the positive connection between the two bracket sections is broken, and the bracket section 43 disengages slot 45 from guide 46 automatically, since roller 41 is moved to the left (in the arrangement of FIG. 3). As a consequence, bracket section 43 falls from the frame onto its side due to its own weight. Since its lateral dimensions are much smaller than its height, the bracket 43 does not interfere with the warp-beam, the diameter a typical carriage for 3 of which is smaller than that of the fianges 11, 21. After the carriage has been removed from the loom, the bracket section 43 can be retrieved and restored by engagement with guide slot 45 and dropping of hook 60. Secured to the pin 65 is a gearwheel 61 which meshes with a rack 62 displaceable in guides 63 mounted on the side of section 44. An operating lever 64 is connected to the other end of the rack 62 to effect longitudinal movement thereof. So that the movable bracket section 43 can be locked to the section 44, it is moved into contact with the fixed section with the guide plate 46 in the slot 45, after which the rack '62 is displaced to the left by moving the lever 64 to the left, as a result of which the gearwheel 65 is turned in the counter-clockwise direction, and this rotation is transmitted through the pin 65 to the hook 60 which engages around the bolt 47 and holds it fast. The movable bracket section 43 is released by moving the lever 64 to the right.

Different mechanisms operated from an accessible position may of course also be used to lock the releasable bracket section 43 to the section 44. It must be remembered, however, that the width available between the warp-beam flanges 11 and 21 only amounts to between 1 and 1% inches and that all members have to be accommodated in this space without weakening the supporting structure, which has to be capable of withstanding at least one load corresponding to the weight of a sectional beam, which can be as much as one ton.

I have shown and described one embodiment in accordance with the present invention. It is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.

I claim: '1. A carriage for transporting warps comprising first and second end support brackets and a third centrally located support bracket interconnected by a transverse frame member to form a support frame,

caster wheels mounted on the bottom surface at each end of each of said support brackets to render said support frame transportable,

said third support bracket being formed of first and sec- 0nd portions each containing a caster wheel and being detachably locked to one another.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein only said second portion of said third support bracket is secured to said transverse frame member so that said first portion is freely removable from said carriage.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said first portion of said third support bracket includes a longitudinal slot and said second portion includes a protruding guide plate for engaging in said slot when said portions are combined.

4. The combination defined in claim 2 further including locking means for releasably locking said first and second portions of said third support bracket to one another and including actuating means for operation thereof at a point remote from the juncture between the two portions.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said locking means further includes a pin secured in said first bracket portion and a pivotable hook member mounted on said second bracket portion and engageable with said pin.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 wherein said hook member is secured to a gear member for rotation therewith and said actuating means includes a gear rack mounted for longitudinal movement on said second bracket portion and engaging with said gear member, and an actuating handle secured to said gear rack and said second bracket portion adjacent the end thereof remote from said first bracket portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,930,074 10/1933 Bentley 242-586 2,706,056 4/ 1955 Talley et al. 214-390 2,972,797 2/ 1961 Altenweger' 28-41 2,994,939 8/1961 Matthews 28-42 FOREIGN PATENTS 505,576 9/1954 Canada.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

